Catch One is on the edge of Arlington Heights and it has been a nightclub since 1973, which makes it one of the oldest continuously operating dance floors in Los Angeles and one of the most historically significant queer venues in the country. It was opened by Jewel Thais-Williams, a Black businesswoman and activist, as a place for Black LGBTQ+ Angelenos at a time when almost nowhere else in the city would have them, and at its height it was known as the Studio 54 of the West. It is still open, it now runs five separate spaces under one roof with different parties in each on the same night, and the reason to go is that both of those facts are true simultaneously.
A fifty-year-old dance floor with five rooms running at once is worth understanding before you arrive. Ask Karpo which Catch One party suits the night you are planning.
1973, and what the club was for
Jewel Thais-Williams opened the club in 1973 in Arlington Heights, and it became one of the first venues in the United States to serve the Black LGBTQ+ community. That is the founding fact and it is not incidental history — it is the reason the building matters.
Through the seventies and eighties it built a reputation as a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people of colour, and simultaneously as a room that drew a crowd from across the city. Madonna, Sammy Davis Jr and Rick James all turned up; so did people who had nowhere else to dance.
The Studio 54 of the West comparison gets used a lot and it undersells the point. Studio 54 was a scene. This was a scene and a refuge at the same time, and it ran for over fifty years.
Five rooms, several parties, one night
The venue now houses five distinct spaces, each capable of hosting its own event, and on a given night several run simultaneously. That is unusual in Los Angeles and it changes how you use the building.
It means one door can lead to five different evenings. A techno room and a hip-hop room and a live show can all be happening at once, and moving between them is part of the appeal rather than a compromise.
It also means the listing matters more than the venue name. Buying a ticket to Catch One tells you where you are going, not what you are going to; check which room and which party.
The queer nights are the throughline
The programme includes long-running LGBTQ+ parties: Preciosa, which is female-focused; Dragon Fruit, which is Asian-centric; and Hard Candy, which is LA Pride's annual event at the venue.
Those nights are the direct continuation of what the building was opened for, and they are the ones to look for if the history is part of why you are going.
Alongside them the club books EDM, hip-hop and rock shows, and the crowd across a week now spans every race, gender and orientation. That breadth is not a dilution of the venue's identity; it is what fifty years of being the room that said yes actually produced.
What to expect on the night
It is a large, old, multi-level building rather than a single polished room, and part of the character is that it feels like a place with fifty years of nights in it. Do not expect the finish of a new Hollywood club.
Because several parties run at once, the atmosphere varies room to room within the same visit. If the first space you walk into is not what you wanted, keep going before deciding.
Check each event's own guidance on tickets, age and dress. With multiple promoters using the building, those details belong to the party rather than to the venue.
Getting there
It sits in Arlington Heights, west of Downtown and south of Koreatown, on a stretch that is residential and quiet away from the club itself. It is a drive or a ride for most people rather than a walk from anywhere.
That location is a piece of the history too. The club was not in a nightlife district, because in 1973 there was no nightlife district that would have housed it.
Plan the trip home in advance. This is not an area with a queue of cabs outside at 2am, and the surrounding blocks are quiet once the club empties.
Practical notes
Catch One is in Arlington Heights, Los Angeles. Opened 1973 by Jewel Thais-Williams; one of the first US nightclubs serving the Black LGBTQ+ community.
Five separate spaces, frequently hosting different simultaneous events on the same night. Programming spans queer parties, EDM, hip-hop and live shows.
Recurring LGBTQ+ nights include Preciosa, Dragon Fruit and Hard Candy. Ticketing, age limits and dress guidance vary by individual event.
Tags: #LosAngeles #CatchOne #ClubsNearMe #QueerNightlife #ArlingtonHeights #LAHistory #Disco #DanceFloor #LGBTQ #LANightlife #WatchParties #PrideLA
Please drink responsibly. Must be of legal drinking age.
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Ask Karpo first
Ask Karpo which Catch One rooms are running on the night you are free, which party fits the group you are bringing, and how to get home from Arlington Heights afterwards.
